Freedom of Eternity
by Drakorn
Summary: Sarah has a rather normal life in the village. Until the day she has a fatal accident. But instead of taking her Death lets her go because he somehow feels attracted to her. But the vampire lord Breda of Krolock also has an eye on her. Meanwhile in Heidelberg Alfred and Abronsius are preparing for their journey to Transylvania. Warning: Changes to original TDV plot!
1. Chapter 1: An Early Morning

**An Early Morning**

It was a joyful morning in the small Carpathian village. Despite the clouds, it was fairly bright. The snow covered the mountains like a white curtain. The village itself was very busy on that morning. People were buying and selling on the small market place and some groups of children were playing in the snow. Yes, it was a joyful day.  
On that day, Chagal's inn was fairly busy as well. People were coming and going, some of them drank either a glass of wine, or, more common, a glass of beer. The maid Magda had almost no time to breathe for the men demanded more drinks, especially the woodcutters and sledge drivers. Yoine Chagal, the innkeeper was entertaining his guests with a self-composed melody on his small violin, while the guests were singing a song to it. His wife Rebecca was busy with cooking in the huge kitchen.  
But still, almost everyone in the inn was focused on the other young girl, constantly running between the tables, helping out here and there. Sarah always had been a natural beauty. She had long curly fire-red, a rather pale, but healthy and fitting skin, and deep blue eyes, that always sparkled with joy. Her thin appearance gave her the movements of a shy deer. On some days (basically all Winter) when the inn was full of people, she helped out here and there. She enjoyed it a lot, since it was her family, and the villagers were never rude to her.

"Sarah, dear! Could you come for a second?" her mother called from the kitchen.  
"I'll ne right there! Please excuse me sir," Sarah said to the woodcutter she just brought a beer to. Then she quickly ran into the kitchen.  
"What's it?" she asked with a smile on her face. Rebecca was standing, with a sweating face, in front of the giant plate, preparing various meals. When she looked at Sarah, she smiled.  
"You know, I always wonder how you find that time," she said.  
"Well, that's how I am."  
"We surely have great luck with you, my dear. However, I wanted to ask you for a favor."  
"Sure mother, what is it?" Sarah asked.  
"You are so active all the time. You surely have that from me! I mean, look all those things I'm doing here every day," she laughed. Then she continued; "So, the favor is: We're running out of herbs. I wanted to ask you, if you could go down to the market place and fetch some new ones for me?"  
"Sure! You know that you can count on me," Sarah said.  
"Thank you my angel," her mother said, the she listed all the herbs she wanted, and how much. Sarah straightly went up to her room, where she dressed in her grey winter coat and her brown winter boots. Then she hurried down again.

"Where are you going Sarah?" Magda asked, when she saw that Sarah was about to leave.  
"I'm just fetching some herbs from the market place," Sarah said.  
"Oh, very well then. But please don't leave me alone here for too long. I wouldn't survive."  
"Don't worry Magda, I'll be here as fast as a lightning," Sarah laughed and exited the inn. The fresh cold mountain air of the Carpathians immediately struck her. Sarah took a deep breath. That felt well. Sometimes it was a real blessing to get away from the hot and stuffy air of the inn. She enjoyed every second when she was outside.

Then she started heading for the market place. It wasn't far at all since the village was rather small. It wasn't an easy life, she knew it all too well, but they all sticked together.  
Sarah smiled as she saw Tommy and some other children playing a very immense snowball fight. When the little boy saw her, he immediately started waving.  
"Hey Sarah! Come and play with us!" he yelled.  
"Sorry little guy, I have things to do, maybe later," Sarah said.  
"Oh, come on. You adults definitely have way too much to do," he said.  
"Well, that's life," Sarah said and continued her way.

She turned eighteen only days ago. That was probably one of the happiest moments of her life. Finally she was a woman. But deep inside her, she knew that she would always have something childish in her life. And she was totally fine with it. She didn't want to become one of those fat, old and gray ladies that she just knew all too well. She wanted to enjoy life as long as she could. But she would never become a boring grandmother.

Finally she reached the market place. She knew exactly where to go: Dragan's herb stand. Somehow he always had what she needed, when she needed it.

"Good morning Dragan!" she called.  
"Ah, good morning Sarah," said the old man smiling; "What can I do for you today?"  
"I would need some herbs."  
"Well, I guess, you're on the right spot then!"  
"Here is everything I need," Sarah said and gave him the list.  
"Just a moment," Dragan said and dived into the amount of herbs he had. It took a few minutes, which didn't matter at all, but then he had everything ready. He putted the herbs in the basket Sarah took from the inn.  
"Anything else?" Dragan asked.  
"No, that would be it," she said; "Goodbye Dragan!"  
"Goodbye Sarah!" he replied.  
Sarah continued her way through the market place. It was surprising how many stands there were. The further she got, the more promotions she heard.  
"The best and most juicy pieces of just hunted wild!"  
"Buy and sell pretty jewelry!"  
"Don't forget your daily rations of fruit and vegetables!"  
"The best clothes in all of Transylvania!" Now, that sounded interesting. Sarah stopped at this stand and looked. There were many clothes, prettier than the previous one. But there was one thing she was fascinated about most: It was a pair of red knee-high leather boots, which looked just perfectly made for a ball. And how pretty they looked like.

"If you allow me to say this, but they perfectly fit your hair, young lady," the merchant said.  
"Oh why, thank you," Sarah said and became red in the face; "But unfortunately I don't have the money," she added and continued her way. That surely would have been some nice piece of clothing.

It was time to return to the inn. After all she didn't want to keep her mother waiting. She started her way back. There would be time for the market place later on. She decided to take a shortcut, to make it quicker. This shortcut was leading past the road the woodcutters used to leave and enter the village. It surely wasn't far anymore. If there wouldn't be a problem, she would be in the inn, in about five minutes. But then, everything happened fast.  
"LOOK OUT!" someone screamed above. When Sarah looked on the road, she noticed that one of the sledges lost control. The dogs probably broke free and the rope wasn't strong enough. And now the sledge was coming right at her. She screamed in fear and jumped to the side. Not looking where she would jump was probably the biggest mistake of her entire life. A burning pain ravaged through her head. It felt like she was literally burning. Then everything started to get dark, cold, and silent.


	2. Chapter 2: The Dark Prince

**So, hello again! Welcome to the new chapter! For the ones that are reading: Thanks a lot for coming back! Now, this chapter is maybe one of the most important ones in the story, because, I think you can already guess by the title what will happen. Have fun!**

**The Dark Prince**

Sarah opened her eyes. Where was she? Everything felt so strange. She felt like she was just thrown inside a tornado. She looked around. That was definitely the road of the woodcutters. Suddenly she remembered. Panic struck her, as she reached out for the back of her head. She couldn't feel anything. There was no trace of a wound, not even the slightest scratch. She also didn't feel any pain. That was strange. A few moments ago, the pain was incredible, but then everything turned black. She probably fainted.

Without any struggle, she got up. That was strange. Suddenly she felt so different than before. She never felt like that before in her entire life. What was going on? She felt so strangely free. Well, she had freedom at home but this; this was something different. She felt like she didn't have to follow any laws anymore. She didn't fell any pain, nowhere. She felt just like a bird in the sky.  
"It feels good, doesn't it?" a voice behind her said. She turned around. In front of her stood a man. He looked very young, Sarah estimated him to be in in his middle twenties. He had golden blonde hair that was going back in wave lines. But his clothes were strange: He was completely dressed in black. He was wearing a black leather jacket, and a black shirt underneath. The same counted for his trousers, and his shoes. Everything was black. But his eyes were blue. Sarah never saw that kind of blue in someone's eyes before: it was enlightening warm, but on the other side it looked cold as ice. But the most mysterious thing about him was his aura. Sarah never felt such an aura of power and might on man before. But there was something else: Warmth. Sarah never felt such pleasant warmth on any human being before. Slowly, the man approached her.

"What is going on here?" she asked. She noticed in the first moment, that there was something wrong about this. Everything felt different. What was happening?  
"This, my child, is salvation," the man said. Salvation? What on Earth was he talking about?  
"What do you mean with "salvation"?" Sarah asked confused. The man sighed, just as if Sarah didn't get something very obvious yet.

"Turn around," he said finally. Sarah did as she was told, still confused. But what she saw when she turned around, caused her to gasp in fear. She saw a huge crowd of people gathered around something. Everyone wildly screamed. But it wasn't the crowd Sarah was terrified of. It was the thing, they were gathered around. Sarah saw herself, lying on the ground. Her head crushed against a sharp rock. The snow already turned red, and already intermingled with her hair. She was lying stiff and cold on the ground. Sarah's eyes widened with fear. It all made sense now. The strange feeling she had all the time after waking up, suddenly made sense. She didn't faint, no, she was dead. She quickly turned back to the man. He seemed to be the only one able to see her. But that could only mean one thing. Then, the truth struck her like a lightning.  
"You. I know who you are."  
"You finally guessed then. You are a smart child Sarah, even if I don't look like you all describe me. The big bad grim reaper, well, I need to say, this little comedies are sometimes very amusing for me." He laughed. Sarah started to tremble. So that was Death. She never expected him to look like that at all. She always had the dark grim reaper inside her mind, but this here? She never expected that. She hated herself for admitting it now, but he looked just amazing. There was nothing wrong in his appearance. But then, she quickly returned to her senses, and sadness overcame her.  
"You are here to take me, right?" She asked.  
"Now, give me another reason why I would be here. But I need to say: this here was truly unfair. What a waste of young life."  
"So my time came now. I never thought that it would end like this."  
"We all can be wrong," Death said. Sarah's eyes filled with tears. This was just purely unfair. Why did she have to die so early, and in such a gruesome way as well? And what would her parents experience?  
"This is unfair!" she shouted; "Why? Why do you do that? Is it joyful for you, to destroy young lives? I wanted to live, become an adult, form a family, see the world! Why did you do that?"  
"Sarah, I need to tell you, that you are making a big mistake," Death said and his voice became grimmer; "I am taking humans not because I want to. I am taking them because I must. And I am not causing death, you are causing it yourself. I swore a long time ago, not to interfere with humans. I am just guiding them on their last step. It doesn't matter whether someone is young or old. I claim the ones who belong to me." When Death finished, Sarah felt strangely lonely. She realized that there was no way back. With a last tear in her eyes, she turned fully to him.  
"Well alright, let's go."  
"SARAH!" Sarah stopped abruptly.  
"This part is always the hardest," Death said. She saw how her parents came running to the spot.  
"LET ME THROUGH!" her father screamed; "LET ME THROUGH! THIS IS MY DAUGHTER!" Her mother followed right behind him. When he saw Sarah's body, he fell on his knees.  
"Sarah, please don't do this to me! PLEASE! Don't do this to me! SARAH!" The despair was nearly written in his eyes. Her mother was just standing beside, crying silently. She simply couldn't speak. Sarah turned back to Death, and noticed, that he looked sad himself.  
"Sarah, believe me: I don't want to do this. But I must. This is the natural order, even if it's hard for me. You know, you have something on you, Sarah. Most people just go with me freely, happy to be redeemed at last. But you, you stick to your life. Why? Is there something still important for you in this world?"  
"My family! You probably don't understand, but there are things that keep me attached to this world. I have a family, I have friends, I have a LIFE! I can't abandon them just like that. They need me, can't you see?"

Death silently looked at the crowd. Everyone was in despair, and had tears in the eyes. There were young and old people, even children were there. Everyone seemed to grief about this girl. He heard sobs, he saw how despaired Sarah's parents were. Then he looked back at her. And suddenly he felt something, deep inside him.

It was a strange feeling, but not bad, it was warm and pleasant. But then another feeling came to him. This feeling told him, that if he would take this red-haired beauty, he would bring great unhappiness to the entire village. He didn't care about such things usually. So what was different now? What was it, that kept him from dancing the final dance with Sarah? Why was it so hard for him to give her the kiss of death, that would bring her to his realm forever? He didn't know. Again he looked at Sarah. The warm feeling came back. He saw her despair, her sadness and her will to live. Then pity overcame him. He didn't want this. He didn't want this at all. This was probably one of the moments where he would be called a heartless monster. He never chose his destiny; it was given to him, at the beginning of time. This was one of the moments where he cursed his task. Sarah was right. It definitely was unfair. Suddenly he realized, that the warm feeling only came to her when he looked at Sarah, or even thought about her. The angels of Heaven and death called it joyful, the demons of Hell called it pain, but humans, humans called love.

Could it be? Could it truly be possible, that he, Death, one of the most powerful beings in the entire universe, fell in love with a mortal girl? Sarah had something about her, something that drew him to her. He still couldn't explain it. But there was one thing he certainly knew: Now, in this very moment, he despised his task. Instead of fulfilling it, he wanted to be loved for once. And he wanted to love himself. No, he just couldn't do it.  
"Hold still," he said.  
"What do you intend to do?" Sarah asked; "Is it time now? Please! I can't look at this anymore!"  
"I am going to send you back."  
"What?"  
"Yes. I am giving you a second chance. I do this very, very rarely, so next time, be more careful."  
"You are truly sending me back? Why did you change your mind?"  
"I don't know myself. Just be happy about it."  
"I-I don't know what to say."  
"Don't say anything, just hold still." Sarah did as she was told to. Death couldn't believe that he was actually doing it. But now there was no turning back. He stretched out his right hand and slightly touched her on her forehead. Sarah's figure started vanishing in bright light, which slowly made it's way back to her body.  
"Thank you," she whispered. Then she was gone. Now everything needed to go fast. With fast steps, Death went through the crowd that didn't notice a thing. He knelt down beside Sarah. This was a terrible wound indeed. Her parents were still crying.  
"Today must be your lucky day, girl," he said and touched the wound. In a matter of seconds it was gone. Her parents didn't notice anything. Death stepped aside.

She first started breathing, and then slowly opened her deep blue eyes. She returned to her body, which was even healed.  
"Father?" she managed to whisper. Her father, who was still holding her in her arms, looked down at her highly alarmed.  
"S-Sarah? SARAH!" he screamed in happiness. Sarah's mother saw it as well. Death watched as they started hugging her, now with tears of happiness. The crowd around them was briefly relieved. This girl surely was loved here. He wasn't surprised by that. She was something special, he knew that the first time he saw her. For once, he wanted to be loved by someone, instead of being feared. He stepped further away. Then their eyes met. Sarah looked him in the eyes. Death could see deep thankfulness in them.

He simply nodded, and then a smile came over his face. This feeling, being thanked for something by a person. This feeling was just incredible. He wouldn't claim Sarah. He would wait. This wish should come only from her lips, until then he would wait. He surely had the time. Then he started to vanish, leaving a happy village behind. But he would come back. He just needed to see her again. Then he was gone completely.

**So, and that was it again! I hope it wasn't to kitschy, I really do. And guys, PLEASE, I need reviews! No, I don't want them for fame, I just want them because I need to know what you think about all of that. Is it written well enough, do I describe it good enough, or am I being a complete retard here? I don't know if you keep your opinion to yourself. But of course its your choice which I can't do anything about. See you next time!**


	3. Chapter 3: How Strange

**Hi there again! Welcome back! Here is my new chapter. Now before you start reading, please read this notes. Yes, this plays before the events of the musical, no, I did not invent the count's first name, it actually exists, and another thing: I really don't like the English pronunciation of Herbert, because in my ears it sound very much like Pervert (no offense). Well, with all that cleared, Let's go!**

**How Strange**

Carefully, the innkeeper couple helped their daughter in her room. After they dressed her in her nightgown and putted her in her bed, they finally started to get calmer. Some tears were still visible however. They hugged her every second, as if they wanted to make sure its not a hallucination. Sarah didn't say anything during this. All her thoughts were with him.  
"Let me bring you a tea," Rebecca said; "You will feel much better then, I promise." She left the room, but not without giving Sarah a last worried gaze. Chagal stayed at her bed.  
"Sarah, my God, don't you ever scare me like that again," he said quietly.  
"I'm sorry father," she said, still with half of her thoughts away.  
"Sorry for what? There is nothing you need to be apologizing for. It wasn't your fault after all," Chagal said. He looked at her again.  
"How did this happen?" he finally asked.  
"I was outside to get some herbs for mother. She could hardly go out of the kitchen after all. But then I took another way, and it happened to be the path of the woodcutters and their sledges."  
"But why?"  
"I-I just thought that it would be a faster way. Well, looks like I was being stupid again."  
"But how did this accident happen?" Chagal asked.  
"One of the sledges went out of control. The dogs probably broke free. The last thing I heard was a loud "look out" from up the path. The sledge didn't hit me, but as clumsy as I am, I fell wrongly."  
"Yes, I can see that," Chagal said. Then he suddenly seemed to remember something.  
"Good lord, Sarah! We need to take care of that wound!" He looked at Sarah's back head, but surprisingly the wound was completely gone.  
"What the-," he started; "But wh-where is the wound?" This was very strange indeed. He saw the blood and the wound with his own eyes. What was going on here?  
"Didn't you see him?" Sarah asked.  
"Seen? Who?"  
"The completely black-dressed man. Who do you think I am referring to?"  
"A man completely dressed in black? No, we didn't see one."  
"But he was the one who closed my wound, you should have noticed that!"  
"Where was he?"  
"He was standing right next to you. He even talked. You really didn't see him?"  
"Sarah dear, you were probably just dreaming, nothing more," Chagal said in a calming voice.  
"I wasn't fantasizing! I even talked to him, outside the crowd!"  
"Sarah, you were lying in the crowd."  
"But I was outside as well, my soul left my body for a short while, and there I saw him."  
"I think you should rest a bit," Chagal said. Then he stood up and quickly left the room. A completely confused Sarah stayed back. She could understand that, outside the crowd, he was talking to her in the between world, she couldn't call it differently, but then he was standing right in the middle of the crowd. Why couldn't anyone see him there? Or was it maybe only the one person affected that could see him? That would be the only reasonable conclusion; she couldn't come up with another one.

She slapped her forehead. Damn, her parents must have been thinking her mad now. Her soul left her body, who on Earth would even say that? She decided to never talk to anyone about this day. That would just bring her bad luck.

Again, her thoughts wandered over to Death. So that was how he looked like in real. She never thought that to be possible. Now that she knew, that Death was actually not the big, bad Grimm reaper, but an attractive young man, She wasn't that much afraid of him anymore. For sure, he was Death, the very being taking the souls of the dead to his realm, but there was something else about him. Sarah remembered the melancholic look when he needed to do his task. It almost looked like he had feelings. It sounded very strange however. How could Death have feelings? But on the other side, why should he act this out? But then again, he was Death after all. But why did he give Sarah a second chance, after he was clearly against it a few moments ago? Where did this sudden change come from? When Rebecca brought the tea, she didn't notice. She only thought about him.

Count Breda of Krolock stood silently and motionless on the battlements. His long night-black hair was wafting in the cold mountain wind. His large cloak looked like two enormous black-red wings with which he would fly away any second. His grey eyes gazed into the valley, thoughtfully but worried.  
"Sarah," he quietly whispered.

Right after he woke up from his day sleep, he felt that something was not right with the girl. She was worried and confused. But it wasn't that. It was something else. It felt like she just escaped a great danger. What happened?  
"Ah, there you are father." The count turned around. His son Herbert was standing in the doorway. If someone would see them together, he probably would assume that those were day and night personified. The count was wearing completely black clothes, while his cloak was blood-red on the inside, Herbert was dressed completely in white. It was sort of a silvery white, which was especially visible inside Herbert's cloak. The same counted for the hair. Breda had night-black hair, while Herbert was golden-blond. And both of them had them open. Yes, day and night indeed.  
"Herbert, what is it?" Breda asked.  
"Does it always have to be some important stuff when I come to you?" Herbert asked; "Can't I just come by and ask how you are doing?"  
"Yes, of course you can," Breda said smiling. That was something his son was saying more than enough. But he was quite right about that however.  
"How I am doing? Well, you know, just like always. And what about you?"  
"Well, just like always," Herbert said. Then he saw his father's face expression; "Is everything alright?"  
"I don't know. Believe me, I do not. When I awoke today, I felt that something was wrong with Sarah."  
"Sarah? What's wrong with her?"  
"I wish I knew," Breda said; "I wish I knew."  
"How about you just go and check it out?" His son recommended.  
"Going back to the village?" Breda still remembered that wild night ten years ago, when he visited the village. It was his last time since then. That was an angry Mob indeed. The humans started to get braver.  
"Well, why would you drain the village elder?"  
"How on Earth should I have known that it was the village elder?"  
"The mighty count doesn't know his subjects," Herbert giggled.  
"Oh, shut up. This is very long ago. Maybe I really should visit the village again. I really hope that they calmed down by now."  
"They are celebrating, to be specific," Herbert said.  
"How do you know?" Breda asked.  
"Oh come on, you perfectly know that I sometimes visit the village. Not like you, I am actually interested in our neighbors. Last year I saw them celebrating about garlic."  
"Garlic! Really. They still think that herbs can stop us," Breda laughed.  
"Apparently they do. They probably just stick to their beliefs."  
"Well, I am going to consider the visit. But this time I won't drain anyone."  
"We have the other villages for that. They still believe that they are terrorized by a serial killer," Herbert said.  
"That's what we actually are," Breda said.  
"Yes, but we are fast, precise and deadly."  
"You are right my son. And now excuse me please. There are some things I need to do."  
"But the ball isn't here yet," Herbert said; "Or did I sleep for days again?"  
"No, you did not," Breda said and remembered how his son actually managed to sleep through three entire nights. The reason for that was that his victim was pumped with drugs and alcohol; "But I am going to make a small visit to Sarah."  
"Oh, that came quickly," Herbert said smiling.  
"What is there else to do?" Breda asked and left the battlements. Herbert and his motivations always worked. Breda shook his head. Then his thoughts came back to Sarah. He needed to know what happened. And he needed to know it already this night, he couldn't wait longer. He looked for his servant Koukol, who was just about to clean the kitchen.  
"Koukol," he said; "I will be away tonight. Make sure that Herbert doesn't do that in which he is a master. Just make sure that everything goes its normal routine while I am away." The hunchback looked up. Then he smiled his creepy smile, which would have scared any human to death, but Breda took it as a sign that he was understood.  
"Very well," he said and left the kitchen. Then he went through the entrance hall, outside on the courtyard. It was so quiet out here. That was good. Oh, how he admired the silence of Winter. The sky was full of stars. It would be a good flight then. He concentrated, took a deep breath, and in the next moment he drifted into the heavens, like an oversized malevolent bat. Then he dived into the night.

**Right! Here it stops again. I really hope that you liked it, and I would be so happy for a few reviews! See ya!**


End file.
